Peter Albert David Singer Quotes

• I would like us to think about it more explicitly, and not take our intuitions as the given of ethics, but rather to reflect on it, and be more open about the fact that something is an ethical issues and think what we ought to do about it.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Ought, Ethical, Explicitly, Intuitions, Reflect

• I think ethics is always there; it’s not always a very thoughtful or reflective ethics.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Ethics, Reflective, Thoughtful

• I suppose what’s happened recently has confirmed suspicions I voiced in the book, and I think made clearer some of those things that I point out. For instance I have a section of the book where I talk about the possibility of torture.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Tags in Suspicions, Voiced, Torture, Suppose, Recently, Instance, Clearer, Section

• I don’t think there’s much point in bemoaning the state of the world unless there’s some way you can think of to improve it. Otherwise, don’t bother writing a book; go and find a tropical island and lie in the sun.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Bother, Tropical, Island, Sun, Unless, Book, Lie

• I don’t think there’s anything in the compromise that means that there’s a clash of ethics.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Topics in Compromise

  Tags in Ethics, Clash

• I don’t think nationalism is alone holding the field; it’s in contention with a lot of different things.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Nationalism, Evokes, Holding, Contention

• I believe that nationalism is a very strong force, but there are other forces operating; there are tendencies pushing towards a larger picture, especially in Europe, I think; but I still think nationalism is real.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Nationalism, Europe, Tendencies, Operating, Strong

• Had Rumsfeld said at any time ‘get me a report on what’s going on’, he could have had it. You’re right, it depends on choices that we make, which parts of the world we want to be in immediate contact with.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Immediate, Rumsfeld, Report, Depends, Choice

• Bush sees the evil as out there in the wider world, residing in people who ‘hate freedom’. Look at his immediate response to the pictures of prisoner abuse; this is not what Americans do, these are not our values.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Immediate, Residing, Wider, Response, Freedom

• Bush is morally a universalist. For instance, he says the freedom is good, the same thing is good, all over the world. So in that sense he’s a universalist.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Morally, Universalist, Terrorizes, Freedom

• Bush doesn’t present himself as a realpolitik politician.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Topics in Politics

  Tags in Politician, Realpolitik

• At the descriptive level, certainly, you would expect different cultures to develop different sorts of ethics and obviously they have; that doesn’t mean that you can’t think of overarching ethical principles you would want people to follow in all kinds of places.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Ethical, Cultures, Overarching, Descriptive, Expect, Follow

• As we realize that more and more things have global impact, I think we’re going to get people increasingly wanting to get away from a purely national interest.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Tags in Increasingly, Global, Impact, Purely

• Ancient recipients of instant news probably couldn’t do very much about it, for instance. Xerxes would still need three months to get his army together, and he might not get home for years.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Instant, Ancient, Recipients, Army

• An animal experiment cannot be justifiable unless the experiment is so important that the use of a brain-damaged human would be justifiable.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Tags in Animal Experimentation, Outragous

• All the arguments to prove man’s superiority cannot shatter this hard fact: in suffering the animals are our equals.

  Peter Albert David Singer

  Topics in Suffering

  Tags in Compassion

Peter Albert David Singer (76)

Birth:	6th July, 1946
Nationality:	Australian
Profession:	Philosopher, Professor

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Today's Anniversary - 21st January

Births

• 1946 - Johnny Oates
• 1922 - Paul Scofield
• 1938 - Wolfman Jack
• 1884 - Roger Nash Baldwin
• 1824 - Stonewall Jackson

Deaths

• 2008 - Evan G. Galbraith
• 1870 - Alexander Herzen
• 1997 - Colonel Tom Parker
• 1924 - Vladimir Lenin
• 1932 - Lytton Strachey